Opinion page editor Rick Holmes and other writers blog about national politics and issues. Holmes & Co. is a Blog for Independent Minds, a place for a free-flowing discussion of policy, news and opinion. This blog is the online cousin of the Opinion
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Opinion page editor Rick Holmes and other writers blog about national politics and issues. Holmes & Co. is a Blog for Independent Minds, a place for a free-flowing discussion of policy, news and opinion. This blog is the online cousin of the Opinion section of the MetroWest Daily News in Framingham, Mass. As such, our focus starts there and spreads to include Massachusetts, the nation and the world. Since successful blogs create communities of readers and writers, we hope the \x34& Co.\x34 will also come to include you.

The holidays are here, which means I’m again offering regulars the opportunity to recommend a book to the readers of our Sunday opinion section. For the 7th time, I’ll be printing your recommendations under the headline “The best book I read this year.”As the headline implies, your recommendation doesn’t have to be a book published this year, just one you read. It can be fiction, non-fiction, graphic novel, book-on-tape, whatever. Variety is good and duplication is bad, so if you think someone else might be recommending your book, let me know. First come, first served. Two rules:

- Recommendations must be brief, meaning between 100 and 150 words.

- Submissions must reach me byFriday, Dec. 20.Send them to my work email: rholmes@wickedlocal.com. The piece will run Sunday, Dec. 29.Thanks for your contributions, now and all year ’round.Rick